Krapp's Last Tape (1958)

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Samuel Beckett

Play script

English

A one-act monodrama which Beckett wrote in English. 'Krapp sits at a cluttered desk and listens to tape recordings he made decades earlier when he was in the prime of life, leaving only occasionally to imbibe liquor offstage. To Krapp, the voice in the recorded diary is that of a naive and foolish stranger. Although he comments savagely on the young Krapp’s hope and idealism, he is drawn to the recorded voice of his younger, more hopeful self.' (Encyclopaedia Britannica website)

Date of Composition: March 1958   Confidence Level  

Linked Works

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Linked Places

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Publishers

Evergreen Review on (1958)   Confidence Level  

Characters

Krapp (Age: old, Male)

'a wearish old man' (Krapp's Last Tape, p. X).

Tape (Age: Not specified, N/A)

An inanimate object: 'On the table a tape-recorder with microphone and a number of cardboard boxes containing reels of recorded tapes.
table and immediately adjacent area in strong white light.' (Krapp's Last Tape, p. X)

Resources

No resources have been added to this work record yet.

Sources

C. J. Ackerley and S. E. Gontarski, The Grove Companion to Samuel Beckett: A Reader's Guide to His Works, Life, and Thought

The Faber Companion to Samuel Beckett, ed. by C. J. Ackerley and S. E. Gontarski (London: Faber and Faber, 2006)

Academic book

On p. 302 Ackerley and Gontarski provide details of the play's initial publication.

Encyclopedia Britannica Website

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Krapps-Last-Tape

URL

Summary taken from site's webpage for the play [accessed 30 January 2019].

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krapp%27s_Last_Tape#First_publication

URL

Information about date of composition (completion) taken from site's webpage for the play [accessed 30 January 2019].